The pilot of an F-16C aircraft that crashed into the waters off Kunsan AB, Korea March 14 failed to follow technical orders “in a timely manner” when his fighter’s flight control system malfunctioned, according to an account of the accident investigation report in Stars and Stripes. The investigation board found that the pilot, who was on a routine training flight, had two opportunities to prevent the crash but did not react quickly enough to prevent a third FCS malfunction. He ejected into the Yellow Sea, where rescue forces picked him up.
The Air Force in October carried out a homeland defense mission, with jets including F-16 Fighting Falcons, in Alaska’s remote Aleutian Islands to show a base there could safeguard the northern regions.